Growing Green: New Products

Full Genetic PotentialOrganica Biotech:Plant Growth Activator Plus is the input of choice for microbial soil and plant inoculation in Ball’s Circle of Life sustainable horticulture program. Plant Growth Activator Plus uses 54 strains of naturally occurring, beneficial soil bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes, as well as humic acid, kelp, B complex vitamins, biotin, folic acid and natural sugars to help plants reach their full genetic potential. The product’s two forms are available to greenhouse growers exclusively through Ball. www.ballhort.com

Circle Of LifeBall Horticultural Company:The Circle of Life program from Ball Horticultural Company is exclusively for independent garden centers and the growers who supply them. The program incorporates sustainable growing practices, including compostable containers, organically based fertilizers, non-harmful, natural pest and disease treatments and beneficial soil microbes, helping growers produce top-quality plants that are better for the environment. Retail support, including point-of-purchase materials, helps retailers market the benefits of sustainably grown plants to consumers. www.circleoflifeplants.com

Back To The EarthFertilpot:Fertilpot is composed of 80 percent spruce wood fibers with only 20 percent peat moss. No glues or binders are used, and the spruce fibers are sourced exclusively from thinning sustainably managed forests. Highly porous container walls allow uniform root penetration and air pruning. Planting the pot directly into the next container or the landscape eliminates plastic waste and transplant shock. www.fertilusa.com

Growth SpurtsInterglobe Agro BioNatural Products:The BioNatural product line is a 100 percent natural plant Biofertilizer and growth enhancer. BioNatural Bioplin supplies plants with a usable form of nitrogen for growth. BioNatural NutriTech improves uptake of nutrients to the plant by solubilizing phosphates, and BioNatural NutriFoliar is a foliar spray containing leaf inhabiting flora of Azotobacter, allowing rapid increase in absorption of nutrients by the growth-promoting effect produced by bacterizing the leaves. This is sprayed directly on the leaves. A liquid delivery system is possible. www.bloomingblossoms.com

Succulent SeriesEuroAmerican Propagators:The Retro Succulents series is geared toward low-maintenance, drought tolerant plants. The collection of unique varieties was bred and selected for its structural and architectural features. Their natural low-maintenance and durability appeal to both the environment and the busy lifestyle of today’s consumers. Aloes, agaves, echeverias, euphorbias andkalanchoes make up the more than 40 varieties in the series. www.pweuro.com

Biodegradable TagsHorticultural IdentificationProducts (HIP):Environmentally-conscious tags from HIP include Repel, a paper substrate containing 30 percent post-consumer waste that is resistant to curling and fading. EcoTag is a degradable alternative to plastic tags. Manufactured using wind power as one energy source, they retain their integrity until buried or disposed of. BioTag material is produced using a polymer technology that relies on bio-based products, such as corn and soybeans. www.hiplabels.com

Efficient IrrigationFraleigh Nursery:The Gro-Eco patented method of growing containerized nursery plants utilizes drip irrigation to reduce water usage by 80 to 90 percent compared to conventional methods. Fungicide and other chemicals are reduced, labor is cut by at least 40 percent and environmental impact is significantly reduced. All plants are sold with a Gro-Eco tag that explains to consumers the benefits of buying Gro-Eco plants. www.gro-eco.com

Friendly HeavyweightA.M. Leonard:Heavyweight woven ground covers can be easily rolled out and tacked into place. This allows for natural weed control with no emission of unsafe fumes, gases or leaching as with chemical-based weed suppressants. The ground cover’s tough, UV-stabilized polypropylene provides years of usage. It resists tears and punctures, yet it is permeable to water and nutrients. Other benefits include the ability to maintain soil moisture and produce excellent air penetration. www.amleo.com

Water IssuesAquatrols:Aquatrols wetting agents (media surfactants) are more than just initial wetting and rewetting of mixes. New chemistries offer additional benefits, including improved uniform delivery and distribution of water to the root zone, reduced losses due to runoff and channeling, improved irrigation efficiency and reduced water use. Contribute to better plant quality and sale-ability and manage all resources effectively to reduce waste, including water, energy required for pumping, fertilizer and fungicide. www.aquatrols.com

Tea For PlantsGrowing Solutions, Inc.:Growing Solutions’ Compost Tea Systems optimize the processes of compost tea extraction. The System10, the newest model, is ideal for small nursery operations and research. This model delivers the same reliable performance as the larger systems, with greater portability and convenience. The Compost Tea Systems are designed for durability and ease of use. Supporting products include Compost Tea Catalyst and Sonoma Valley Worm Farm Vermicompost.www.growingsolutions.com

Ellepots By BallBall Horticultural:Ellepots by Ball are made from degradable, non-woven paper that’s easy to handle. They’re produced with specially formulated Ball Professional Ellepot Growing Mixes and contain an initial nutrient charge of Daniels Professional Plant Food. Plants are less likely to be damaged in transplanting, and there are no plastic pots to throw away. Ellepots by Ball degrade in the ground by the end of the season. www.ballhort.com

Phosphorous-FreePerfectly Natural:Phosphorus Free Lawn Fertilizer 9-0-5 is 100 percent organic. It is a granulated homogenous fertilizer that provides a balanced, slow release of essential nutrients, enzymes and vitamins for a lush, weed-free lawn. The slow release of nutrients ensures it will not burn the grass and maximizes the uptake of nutrients by the turf, reducing leaching of nutrients through the soil. It is phosphorus-free and a family- and pet-friendly formulation. www.perfectlynatural.com

Fresh FishDramm Corporation:Drammatic organic plant food is derived from fish scraps. Drammatic “O” liquid fish formula produces brilliant flowers and foliage. For organic, sustainable and conventional crops there is Drammatic “K”, which has a liquid fish and kelp formula. Premium blend Drammatic “ONE” has a liquid fish and kelp formula containing all the natural growth hormones to stimulate plant growth. All are available in 1-gallon, 5-gallon and 55-gallon containers. www.dramm.com

Green RoofsStepables:The Stepables line of creeping perennials is an environmentally friendly solution for multiple applications in the landscape. With more than 140 different varieties to choose from, Stepables can be used as a lawn replacement, on green roofs or to simply cut-down on general maintenance and waste in the garden area. www.stepables.com

Healthy And StrongWestern Pulp Products:Premium molded fiber containers are made from 100 percent recycled paper in the U.S.A. and they let roots breathe while insulating from extreme temperatures. The containers are long-lasting and biodegradable in the natural environment. Premium construction yields a strong, water resistant and durable container. Wax-permeated hanging baskets, planters and pots are microporous, promoting healthy soil and roots. Molded fiber has higher “R” (insulation) values than plastic or wood without the evaporative loss of moss or coco containers. www.westernpulp.com

Soybean FeedDaniels Professional Plant Food:Daniels Professional Plant Food is an organically based fertilizer product that is derived from the extract of oilseeds such as soybeans. Daniels provides nutrition for plants from propagation to finished crops. It is a recommended component of sustainable horticulture programs including Circle of Life by Ball Horticultural Company. www.danielsplantfood.com

Amending SoilEarthstone:GrowStones are manufactured using 99 percent recycled bottles. They can serve as soil amendments for commercial and home gardeners or assist in hydroponic growing systems. GrowStones replace products created from strip-mined rocks, like pumice and perlite, and also give new life to what would otherwise be considered waste. www.earthstonetechnology.com

Nature’s ResourcesSun Gro Horticulture:Black Gold, a nutrient-rich blend of Canadian sphagnum peat moss, earthworm castings, forest humus, compost and pumice, is ideal for patio containers, hanging baskets and house plants. The mix is specially formulated with Multicote, a controlled release fertilizer, to feed container plants up to six months plus provide moisture retention and good drainage. It is OMRI-listed. www.sungro.com

Quality CoirJiffy:The new Jiffy-7C pellet series, entirely made from the pithy tissues of coconut husks, offers a renewable and environmentally friendly propagation system for the horticultural industry. Jiffy’s own coir treatment plant and stringent quality control guarantee the physical and chemical properties of the coir substrate. The pellets provide the propagator with maximum air porosity and outstanding water holding capacity. www.jiffypot.com

Good BugsBiobest Biological Systems:Biobest produces biological control organisms used in integrated pest management (IPM) programs. Biological control is a technique in which pests that attack plants are controlled using natural enemies (beneficial organisms). Biobest offers about 30 beneficial organisms against pests such as aphids, thrips, spider mites, whitefly, fungus gnats, etc. Other products include sticky cards and tapes used to monitor or control pest populations. www.biobest.ca

Nature’s MediaRiceland Foods Inc.:PBH Nature’s Media Amendment is processed and sterilized rice hull that requires no mining or land disruption to produce. As a replacement for perlite in the growing media, it offers a less dusty mixing environment, lower basic cost and decomposition over time, while remaining stable during the plant production cycle. PBH also provides the physical size, shape and bulking properties necessary to produce optimum air-filled pore space, water-holding capacity and drainage. www.riceland.com

Reducing Disease LossesBioSafe Systems:ZeroTol Broad Spectrum algaecide/fungicide is formulated to help achieve disease control of greenhouse and nursery operations. Approved for killing algae, fungi and spores on plant material, hard surfaces and in water, ZeroTol can reduce disease losses to virtually zero. An alternative to chlorine, ZeroTol is EPA approved and has a zero-hour re-entry interval and no restrictions on its use. www.biosafesystems.com

Eliminate WasteBall Horticultural/Summit Plastic:Circle of Life pots, distributed by Summit Plastic, are made of rice hulls and are available in multiple sizes. They are available branded as part of the Circle of Life program or plain with no brand. For growers and retailers, the pots offer an easy way to grow and promote more sustainable plants. The pots can simply be crushed and tossed in a compost pile to completely degrade within a few months, eliminating waste. www.ballhort.com or www.summitplastic.com

Effective ControlBioWorks:The BioWorks family of products is robust enough to stand on its own in many situations and can handle conventional chemical rotations. Keep root disease problems under control with RootShield Granules and PlantShield HC biological fungicides. MilStop is a broad spectrum foliar fungicide for control of powdery mildew, Botrytis and other leaf diseases. Applied early, BotaniGard and Mycotrol O biological insecticides can help keep crops free of whiteflies, thrips and aphids. NemaShield insect parasitic nematodes take out root-damaging fungus gnat larvae. www.bioworks.com

Sustainable DesignCanton Plastics International:Canton Plastics International offers growers and retailers customized larger and standard containers made from biodegradable materials and plastic. Their sustainability line, Bio-Line Pots, includes retail-ready designer series flowerpots in a palette of colors. Customers can select the degradation time of pots from a shorter time for grow pots to a longer time for retail-ready pots. Traditional, contemporary and custom designs are available. www.cantonplastics.com

Safe AlternativesPharm Solutions:Fungus gnats, scale, whitefly, mealy bug, thrips and spider mites will be a distant memory with Indoor Pharm Concentrate for greenhouse growing, with a zero REI and a rosemary fragrance. A Food Grade Organic Acid for the control of herbaceous broadleaf weeds and weed grasses, Weed Pharm is a 200 grain vinegar herbicide EPA Registered and approved for Organic Production under USDA/NOP guidelines. www.pharmsolutions.com

Pollution FreeBiopots:All-natural Biopots are made from fibrous wastes of renewable and sustainable crops, such as bamboo fiber, straw and rice husks. They are formed by a hot press method. The binder is a synthetic and natural compound (combination of starch-based, water-soluble binders and biodegradable additives). Biopots contain no wood or petroleum and are biodegradable. They break down to easily decompose in landfills or into the earth. The manufacturing process is pollution free, leaving no industrial wastes and also adds biomass to the soil or compost. www.biopots.com

Five heating systems manufacturers share their latest and greatest products. Tubing And Aluminum Heat Pipes (BioTherm) From Megatube and MicroClimate tubing to DuoFin and StarFin aluminum heat pipe, BioTherm is dedicated to providing heat solutions that can withstand the toughest greenhouse environments. The MegaTube and MicroClimate tubing options are easy to install and ideal for bench or floor heating. The tubing has a conductive heating surface that allows for maximum root-zone heating. The DuoFin and StarFin aluminum pipe options are great for perimeter heating and melting snow trapped in the greenhouse gutter. It can also be useful for bench heating. Both pipe options provide gentle, radiant heat for plants and don’t require welding. TrueLeaf.net Infinite Energy 2 Condensing Boiler (Delta T Solutions) With up to 98 percent efficiency, the IE2 condensing boiler boasts a stainless steel heat exchanger with larger waterways to ensure maximum heat transfer. The product’s design ensures flexibility while […]

All-America Selections (AAS) has stepped forward with another first when promoting AAS Winners, this time in the form of cooking videos using vegetables/edibles that have performed extremely well in the AAS Trials. These days, a love of gardening is directly related to a passion for cooking. Tying the two together is a natural when marketing joys of cooking with fresh vegetables from the garden and farm market. After 82 years of conducting trials where only the best performers are declared AAS Winners, the organization now has more than 325 individual varieties that have been “Tested Nationally & Proven Locally.” It is some of these many varieties that culinary storyteller, entertainer and horticulture industry veteran Jonathan Bardzik will use in a series of five videos demonstrating cooking techniques with AAS Winning herbs and vegetables. “I am excited to partner with All-America Selections to show people across the country that AAS Winners perform […]

Greenhouse Grower’s lead editor, Laura Drotleff, and I got into a debate about why garden retailers, especially independent garden centers, snub marketing efforts from breeders and growers. She was very much on the breeders’ and growers’ side, expressing frustration about how limited retailers’ vision can be on the topic. I’ve reported on the garden retail side of the industry since 1998, about the same length of time Laura has reported on growers. I’ve heard a lot of retailer views on this, so allow me to share the most common reasons why retailers decline free marketing: Costs. While the marketing materials are free, and sometimes advertising, participating in these projects usually requires minimum orders. From a grower’s perspective, the minimum orders are reasonable. If garden stores promote a plant line, they need to have enough supplies to satisfy demand. From a retail perspective, if inventory reports show a plant line can […]

Mike’s Backyard Nursery sits on a long, narrow, 5-acre property located in Perry, Ohio. There, customers can find a variety of flowering shrubs available, all in 2-quart pots, and all for sale for $5.97 each. Owner Mike McGroarty, a lifelong resident of Perry, says the town has a lot of plant nurseries, including 100 wholesale growers within a 10-mile radius of his house. That doesn’t discourage McGroarty, because he knows that while there are a lot of nurseries in his area, no one else is doing what he is doing. McGroarty has learned about plants — and marketing them to his audience — through decades of experience. He has never hesitated to pass along his knowledge to other growers looking to start their own backyard operations, and has created an entire program to educate aspiring growers. McGroarty Likes To Practice What He Preaches McGroarty’s operation serves as the laboratory for […]

As most growers know well, the federal government regulates all insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and other commercial chemicals used on agricultural crops. Therein lies the problem with use of chemicals on cannabis crops – so far, the feds want nothing to do with legalized marijuana. According to “Concern Grows Over Unregulated Pesticide Use On Cannabis,” a June 17 article on the National Public Radio (NPR) network by Agribusiness Reporter Luke Runyon, the lack of regulated chemicals for cannabis has left growers to experiment on their own. “In the absence of any direction the subject of pesticide use on the crop has just devolved to whatever people think is working or they think is appropriate,” said Colorado State University Entomologist Whitney Cranshaw in the NPR report. “Sometimes they’ve used some things that are appropriate, sometimes unsafe.” Denver officials held tens of thousands of marijuana plants earlier this year due to safety concerns, but […]

A researcher from North Carolina State University (NC State) has found that in the case of the flame azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum), all pollinators are not created equal. In fact, due to the flower’s unique reproductive structure, butterflies — and specifically, their wings — are the key to pollination. The flame azalea is commonly found in the Appalachian Mountains, ranging from as far north as New York to Georgia in the south. Like most azaleas, the flowers are large, and have an unusual structure: both the anther (male) and stigma (female) parts are very elongated and separated from one another. NC State biologist Mary Jane Epps was interested in how the azalea’s flower structure affected its pollination. “In order for a plant to reproduce, a pollinator — usually an insect — has to spread the pollen from the anther to the stigma,” Epps says. “In the case of the flame azalea, […]

The Horticultural Research Institute will grant $125,000 in financial support for four key projects as part of the Horticultural Industry Bee & Pollinator Stewardship Initiative. The Initiative has three primary goals. First, to convene a task force to develop a bee and pollinator stewardship program, including creation of best management practices for plant production. Second, to identify and fund research that will help answer key science questions and fill gaps needed to design and refine the stewardship program. Third, to seek to positively position the horticultural community and its customers by collaborating with other compatible groups interested in augmenting pollinator habitat and protection.

If you are pursuing a floriculture research project, now is the time to apply for funding through the American Floral Endowment. Research pre-proposal applications for 2015-2016 funding are due to AFE by June 1, 2015.

AmericanHort announces the revised American Standard for Nursery Stock (ANSI Z60.1) is now available for industry use. The Standard reflects the consensus of the industry regarding how nursery stock — living plants other than annuals — should be specified and sold within the trade.

With its recent purchase of a farm in Colombia, Darwin Perennials is ready to amp up supply of its perennial genetics, to provide growers with tried-and-true varieties and comprehensive production specifications.